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To me, having a pair of bluebirds nest in my backyard is a really big deal. It means that I provided the birds with a much-needed place for them to lay their eggs. It also guarantees that I will be regularly seeing one of our most colorful birds for weeks to come.

Let’s take a quick glimpse at the compelling story of bluebird nesting. I am convinced that once you get a feel for what goes on in and around a nesting structure, you will better appreciate why bluebirds nesting in your yard is such a special event.

We seem to enjoy the sights and sounds of the birds that visit our feeders and bird baths more in winter than at any other time of the year. This is a time when the weather often limits outside activities.

The plight of neotropical migratory birds is well documented. These are the birds that nest throughout North America and winter in Latin America, a kaleidoscope of birds including orioles, warblers, vireos, thrushes, tanagers and other colorful songsters. The fact that many of them are suffering frightening population declines is a major concern for conservationists.

If you are like most hummingbird enthusiasts during the past few weeks, you have probably asked yourself, where are the hummingbirds?

I wish I had a good answer. However, I can tell you this: Just as the nighttime skies were illuminated with fireworks on the Fourth of July, I am equally certain that hummingbird numbers will soon explode in your backyard.

If you ask a hummingbird enthusiast to name the flowers they plant for hummingbirds, more than likely they will reel off the names of plants such as Lady In Red salvia, lantana, pineapple sage, Turk's cap and coral honeysuckle, to name but a few.

For more years than I care to remember, I have vainly tried to entice purple martins to nest in my yard. Each year during the late winter or early spring, a handful of purple martins magically appear at my martin house.

When these early migrants show up, my hopes run high that this will be the year I will become a purple martin landlord. My high expectations are dashed in a few days when the birds disappear, never to return.

It was only recently that an Arctic Clipper laden with a full cargo of frigid weather sailed into the Peach State this winter. Of course, when cold dominates our weather we have the luxury of taking refuge in cozy abodes. When we do venture outside, we don heavy winter coats, hats and gloves to ward off the cold.

At best, frigid weather is little more than an inconvenience to most of us.

We Americans have harbored a long-standing love affair with the ruby-throated hummingbird. This affection is so widespread that, without any hesitation, I would say this feathered sprite is the most popular bird in the Georgia.

With that in mind, I have often wondered just how long we have been enamored with this flying dynamo.